Welcome to India, My Friend (It's Just a Tuesday, Part 2)

The day got better! After Starbucks, I decided to buy some much needed groceries and guided the driver via pointing and gesticulating and praying we were not rear ended each time he stopped suddenly in misunderstanding. He dropped us at the curb, we dodged a street dog ("but it's SO cute mommy, and there is a baby one!") and got into the store. We found carrots and melon, frozen French fries and olives (that I'm now consuming with vodka). We got home and sent our driver off on his merry way.

Our amazing caretaker, Balu, met George at the bus stop as he does every day, while I was hanging laundry. I heard shouts of "Mam!" and a lot of screaming. I dropped the laundry and ran downstairs to find George screaming on the sofa. Really screaming. He had shoulder pain. He had it last night, but not like this. He'd had a tummy ache right before. He was really, really screaming.

Shit! What the f$/@ do I do? I called my husband's boss' wife-no answer. I had just been invited to Pune Mommies WhatsApp group! I posted, "doctor in Wakad for 8 year old screaming in pain." "Emergency, please hello". "Please help" (darn autocorrect.)  Within a minute I had a doctor's contact. I called the doctor while Balu called for a ride. 

Yay! Our first tuk tuk ride. It wasn't scary at all, really, because I could only think about my son having an emergency appendectomy in India! (He didn't). 

We got dropped off at an alley, a long, narrow, dark alley. I carried my 70 pound son the length of a city block, up 3 flights of dark, dingy concrete stairs in an apartment complex, entered a tiny, grubby office where I was scolded when I didn't remove my shoes...

But the doctor was good and kind and thorough and it was only muscles spasms and a pinched nerve causing George's pain. The good doctor was kind when I explained I had only arrived in India 2 weeks ago and had taken a tuk tuk to get to him and didn't even know how to find a pharmacy or get home. He took pity and got me an Uber. He also arranged to have the meds delivered (to the alleyway).

We got in the car, took the muscle relaxants from a woman in a sari through the car window in a dark alley, drove out the alley and it went dark outside. There is no dusk or twilight in the tropics. Just day, sunset, then night. The driver had no idea where to go and kept pulling over to ask directions in spite of the fact that I kept pointing where to go. Finally I insisted. And insisted again.  Then just yelled.  He then followed my wildly gesticulating arm and we got home to find the twins in the driveway bat watching with Balu.

Welcome to India, my friends. It's like no other place I've ever been.